Hush (2016) Movie Review: I Guess She Couldn’t Hear Anyone Scream

Have you ever wondered how a deaf person could make it through a horror movie? Well, if you have, this is the movie for you. If you haven’t, then you are not a true horror movie fan. Anyway, this is a pretty badass movie all around and you might only know one of the actors in the move. Maybe not, if you haven’t watched the Battlestar Galactica series from a couple of years back. Side note, if you haven’t taken the time to watch it, you need to do that right now.

The barebones premise of this movie is a famous writer lives in a secluded home in the woods, and is stalked by a psychopathic killer. She also happens to be deaf. It’s not really easy to make that sound super-engaging against the sea of horror movies that you can watch at a moment’s notice on any device that you currently own. Give it a shot, please.

Psycho boy definitely had this thought when he first saw Maddie.

A Toast

The co-writer of the movie, Kate Siegel, also happens to pull double duty as the leading actress. She might not be the most experienced actress in the world, but you couldn’t tell that at any point during this. She makes the ridiculous premise of the movie believable at every turn. Her character, Maddie, is strong, vulnerable, and whip smart. Her reactions in situations are spot on and break a lot of the tropes present in most horror movies, super-refreshing. Siegel does a fantastic job in both the dramatic scenes and action sequences in the movie, adding to the high degree of realism the movie is going for.

I truly believe the director is the one who stole the show here. Mike Flanagan is a name that you should be seeing pop up over the next few years on bigger horror movies. It might have to do with the fact that he has two other movies coming out this year or he might actually get the chance to make more films. We’ll see. His use of the absence of sound is one of the biggest pluses, as it ratchets up the tension and confusion on-screen. Really skilled stuff here, but his ultimate success may hinge on the success of Before I Wake, which comes out later this year. And… it looks fucking terrible.

Beer Two

Unfortunately for this movie, it is plagued by one of the least threatening villains in any movie, ever. He also lacks any motive, which works when you have a group of people getting picked off, but doesn’t really work for the one on a single cat and mouse game. No motive plus comically huge hunting knife equals goofy (at least in my book). I also thought that they were going to play up some weird sex/rape angle, and I’m really happy that we didn’t have to endure those possible shenanigans.

That is one comically large knife.

Verdict

The bottom line here is that Hush has a great protagonist, a sub-par antagonist, and a great overall story. This is still one of the better horror movies that I have seen in some time and have no idea how it was released straight to Netflix instead of being in theaters.

About Frankie B.

A kid from New York that fell in love with the magic of movies. Fascinated by every facet of the movie industry. Really love B-quality horror movies and psychological thrillers. Movieboozer is a humor website and drinking games are intended for entertainment purposes only, please drink responsibly.